Notice of Changes to the Blackboard Gradebook Beginning the Evening of Friday May 8th, 2009
Notification #2

This is a message from the Blackboard Listserv sent to you from the Resource Centre for Academic Technology (RCAT). We use this messaging service to inform you of important UofT Blackboard updates, reminders and notifications.

Dear colleagues,

This message is to inform you of upcoming changes to the Blackboard Gradebook. We will be upgrading to the newest version of Blackboard over the May 8^th weekend. The new release includes a brand new “Grade Center” that replaces the current Gradebook. The new Grade Centre will have easier to use features and more flexibility for uploading and downloading files. We hope you will enjoy using it. For a preview of the new Grade Centre, please go to:

http://www.portalinfo.utoronto.ca/__shared/assets/GradeCenter2498.pdf

(Note that long URLs may not wrap properly. If this URL fails to work, please copy and paste the entire URL into a browser ensuring you have the *complete* URL)

In preparation for the release of the new Grade Centre, RCAT is developing online resources for our portalinfo website and targeted workshops that will focus on the new Grade Centre. Your divisional support person may provide additional resources.

 

Grade Centre Specific Resources from RCAT

 

Face to face training resources at the RCAT

Workshops:

• Targeted Grade Centre workshops will begin the week of May 12^th at RCAT on a twice weekly basis. We will increase the number of Grade Centre workshops as required.

To sign up, please to www.rcat.utoronto.ca Click on >Blackboard in Focus>Grade Center: An Interactive Tool

 

Online resources at http://www.portalinfo.utoronto.ca/

Screen capture:

• We are developing a number of Grade Centre specific screen capture videos to walk users through the more common Grade Centre tasks. These resources will be available beginning the week of May12th.

 

Step by step “How Tos”:

• Revised how-to documents specific to the Grade Centre will also be available the week of May12th.

 

Please let me or your divisional support person know if you would like us to come to your department to introduce members of your department to the Grade Centre. We can also deliver a custom, hands-on workshop on the Grade Centre to members of your department.

Please note: We will be redesigning the portalinfo site over the summer to make it easier to find information on Blackboard help.

 

Administrative tasks in preparation for the release of the new Grade Centre:

• The transition will be seamless for your students. They will still have access to their grades for the regular 90 days after the end of classes. Any marks that you previously inputted into the current Gradebook will be ported automatically to the new Grade Centre after the upgrade. Instructors, graders and TAs who access grades after the weekend of May 8^th will see the new interface. If you wish to perform grade calculations after that date and have any issues with the new Grade Centre, please call RCAT staff or your local support staff . They will be happy to assist you. 

 

• To make the transition smoother for you, we recommend that you enter *term* marks in the current Gradebook before the May 8^th upgrade if possible. *Final exam* marks may be entered into the new Grade Centre after the upgrade for overall grade calculation, if that is your common practice. However *final* marks should not be made available to your students through Blackboard. They should be submitted to your department, according to departmental guidelines.

 

• As a matter of best practice, please remember to download your current Gradebook to a .csv file and create a Gradebook archive for this term as soon as classes end. 

We will be sending out a number of messages to ensure all Blackboard users are aware of the changes and know how to access the resources we are developing. The next notice, coming in late April, will include updated information about the upgrade, additional resources and more information about the new Grade Centre.

If you know of any instructors or TAs who use Blackboard, but who are not on this listserv, please ask them to contact me at [log in to unmask] or Jeremy Graham at [log in to unmask] and we will register them.

 

 

Best,

Linda

 

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Linda Murphy-Boyer,

Director, The Resource Centre for Academic Technology (RCAT)

4th Floor, Robarts Library

130 St George Street

University Of Toronto

416-946-5341

RCAT Website: http://www.rcat.utoronto.ca

Blackboard Portal Help Site: http://www.portalinfo.utoronto.ca